Mission: Lie to Kunoichi
by follow you into the night
Summary: The 8 males of the Konoha 12 return from a top secret S-ranked mission in varying states of injury. The four girls struggle to understand what happened and why they were all left out of the mission. And thus, the lying games begin as each of our four favorite shinobi attempt to keep secrets from the girls they are all falling for. sasusaku shikaino naruhina nejiten
**Here's a new story! I've been working on updating some of my old stories so if there are any that y'all want updated then just leave a comment or message me and I'll get right on it! The next part to this story will be coming in the next day or two! I hope y'all enjoy!**

...

Sakura scanned the faces of the other kunoichi around the fire. Everyone was particularly quiet today, even herself. For the last year, the four kunoichi of the Konoha 12 had secretly arranged meetings. Normally they would help each other develop new jutsu or lend advice, and occasionally they would even stick around afterwards to just talk about life. Though the topic of boys was often astutely avoided.

It had been years since Ino and Sakura's fan girl days of pronouncing their undying devotion to Sasuke. In fact, Sakura wasn't even sure whether Ino even had feelings for Sasuke anymore. Hinata was obvious, of course. The red face and stuttering around Sakura's teammate Naruto left little question as to where her heart lied. Tenten was as much a mystery as Ino though. There were always rumors flying around about the two close teammates, but with Neji's stoic persona the rumors were more than likely just fabrications.

"I-I'm sure everybody will be okay…" Sakura glanced in the direction of Hinata. It was odd for her to be the first to speak. The quiet girl had her head down; her dark bangs hiding her lilac eyes from sight.

"Hinata is right! There's no reason to be worried. All those boys are stubborn and hardheaded. Anyways, they'll be back tomorrow. All of them…" Ino's loud voice softened at the last sentence, becoming so quiet that the girls almost didn't catch it.

"This is just so frustrating! How come the eight of them got to go, but we had to stay behind!?" Tenten banged a fist against the log she was sharing with Sakura, the vibrations causing the distracted girl to perk up.

"How about we meet them at the gates tomorrow? I overheard Tsunade telling Shizune that they should be back by around noon. If all went well that is."

Tenten huffed angrily, but her words came out sounding more concerned than annoyed. "I still can't believe neither of them would tell me what this mission was about. I'd feel a lot better if I had at least an inkling of what they were up against. It's so rare for a team of eight male Chunin to be sent on a mission. I wish they had at least sent one of you two." Tenten pointed at Ino and Sakura.

Being the only two of the Konoha 12 to have medical training, it was obvious as to what Tenten was referring to. Sakura herself had wondered the same thing from time to time over the last two weeks. She pictured Sasuke lying in a ditch somewhere, gaping and bloody wounds covering every inch of his lifeless body. The mental image caused her to shudder and she noticed similar worried expressions on the faces around her.

"Tomorrow then. We'll meet at the gate at 11 tomorrow morning."

"Hai." The three kunoichi chorused.

…...

It was almost 9 as Ino walked towards Konoha's front gate. She had considered coming earlier, last night for example, but had decided against it after picturing Shikamaru chastising her for her stupidity.

" _Troublesome…you'll only give yourself a cold. Then I'll be the one stuck taking care of you."_

The thought had made her giggle, which is something she found herself doing a lot lately whenever Shikamaru was involved. Instead of taking being called "Troublesome" as an insult like she had in her youth, she now relished the moments when Shikamaru would look up at her with his dark eyes and murmur it under his breath. It was like a promise; something special that just the two of them shared.

Ino shuffled the four coffees to her left hand, attempting to not drop the bag of bagels clutched under that arm. Moving the hair that had fallen over her eye behind her ear, she wasn't surprised in the least to find her only three female friends already at the gate.

Sakura looked paler than usual as she slept horizontally on the stone bench closest to the gate. Her pink hair fell over her face as another gust of wind rustled through the trees. Next to her, Hinata dutifully moved the stray hair. She looked exhausted as well, but smiled shyly as Ino waved.

Tenten stood manning the gate's entrance where ninja and visitors were meant to check in. Ino rolled her eyes, laughing as she did so. Tenten and Neji were two peas in a pod: workaholics.

…...

The hours ticked by slowly, especially as the last of the warmth provided by the coffee faded. Hinata looked back down at Sakura who was still fast asleep, her coffee and bagel untouched. Hinata had been surprised to find the pink haired girl at the gate last night. She herself had arrived around two in the morning, unable to stop tossing and turning in her bed long enough to fall asleep as she thought of a certain blonde shinobi. Sakura had been sitting upright on the bench, her emerald eyes staring intently at the gate entrance. Based on the ragged hair and chilled skin, Hinata doubted the girl had gone home at all after leaving the girl's training session last night.

"I understand how you feel, you know?" Hinata was startled when she heard Sakura speak, especially since the girl hadn't even glanced in her direction yet.

"Wh-What do you mean, Sakura?"

Sakura grimaced, clearing her throat as she turned to look Hinata in the eyes. "I never understood you before. How you could be so obviously in love with Naruto," Hinata flinched at Sakura's bluntness, "yet, never say anything. When Sasuke returned, I knew I couldn't go back to my childish antics of chasing him around. I had even tried to convince myself that I didn't still love him. But I do love him. And now I understand, Hinata. I understand why you were always watching from the sidelines. It's terrifying. I'm terrified."

Hinata rushed forward as tears began to stream their way down Sakura's already pale face. The two desolate kunoichi stayed in that position for hours, long after Sakura had ceased crying, until Tenten arrived at six for gate duty.

…...

At 11:40, Tenten perked up. Shinobi, a lot of them, were quickly approaching Konoha. As if sensing a change in the air, Sakura quickly sat up, casting a grim smile in Hinata's direction. Ino had already jumped from her leaning position by Tenten's post, her hand over her heart as if clutching it so as to keep it from leaping out of her chest.

Naruto was the first through the gate, which wasn't overly surprising. He had the fastest recovery time thanks to his large reserves of chakra. On his back was a mostly conscious Kiba.

Neither looked to be in overly bad shape, though Naruto had scratches over a large part of his body and Kiba looked as if he had lost the will to stand. Akamaru was close on his owner's tail, barking happily now that they were home. Tenten noticed Hinata's sigh of relief when she took in Naruto's positive condition.

The next person through the gate was Neji, though his face was set in a grimace. "Neji!" Tenten rushed forward with the intent of giving her teammate a hug, but quickly stopped herself and looked down while blushing at her foolishness. Neji was never fond of being touched she swiftly recalled. Her embarrassment was rapidly replaced with worry, however, when the realization hit her. Neji was supporting Lee on his back, only Lee wasn't moving which was very uncharacteristic of the rambunctious shinobi. In fact, he was barely breathing.

"Lee! Lee, wake up!"

"Tenten…" Tenten pushed past Neji as he attempted to impede her view of their hurt teammate, his face a mixture of anxiety and shame.

"Sakura! Help him!"

…...

Sakura was alert now; realization setting in that this mission had not gone according to plan despite the boys' punctual return. She rushed to Tenten's side and helped her lower Lee to the ground. She had just commenced her analysis of his injuries, her hands glowing green with chakra, when the last member of Team 8 came to a stop in the slowly unraveling turmoil.

Shino, covered as usual from head to toe, looked none the worse for wear. "Choji is bringing in two critical conditions."

Sakura's heart stopped at almost the exact second Ino screamed. Choji, with his hands enlarged using his clan's jutsu, carried Sasuke and Shikamaru carefully, not wanting to worsen their conditions by jostling their injuries.

"Ino, I'm sorry…I'm so so sorry…I-I can't hold this much longer. We need to get him-We need to get them to the hospital." Ino had tears streaking down her face, but she turned swiftly on her heal before disappearing to the rooftops. Choji had barely made it to Naruto by the time Ino was back, six medical ninja close on her heels.

Sakura observed her distraught childhood friend and was shocked to find that rather than standing over Sasuke as she had expected, the pretty blonde was gripping tightly onto her dark-headed teammate's hand. So long were the days for silly crushes and juvenile rivalries.

…...

"We need to move him to the hospital." Sakura looked between Tenten and Neji when neither made a move to help her. Their eyes were locked in what felt like an intimate moment so Sakura turned to look behind her. "Shino! Can you help transport Lee to the hospital?"

Shino nodded silently. It wasn't until Lee, supported by thousands of Shino's bugs, began to rise off of the ground that Tenten snapped out of whatever silent moment she had been having with Neji. "I-I'll meet all of you at the hospital." She rose to a standing position. "I have to wait for my shift at the gate to end or replacement guards to arrive."

"I'll wait with you…" Sakura looked at Neji, nearly as startled as Tenten.

"Okay, I'll come find the two of you in the waiting room once I get Lee settled in an operating room. He is going to be fine. He has a concussion, a handful of broken ribs, and he overexerted his leg again so I'll need to reset it."

The two teammates nodded their thanks as Sakura led the way to the hospital. She was astonished by her calm exterior. Inside she was a chaos of emotions, every horrible thought revolving around the limp body of one Sasuke Uchiha, the boy she undoubtedly loved with everything she had. She should have fallen apart. Three years ago, she would have fallen apart. But years under Lady Tsunade had taught Sakura how to conceal her emotions while focusing on the task at hand.

Since it was likely that Tsunade would be healing either Shikamaru or Sasuke, depending on who was in the worst condition, and Shizune would be taking the other, Sakura knew it was her duty to help Lee. Though his unconscious state was most likely due to a lack of chakra, the fact that he also had a concussion meant that he was not in the clear yet. Luckily, whatever had crushed his torso had not caused enough damage to puncture a lung.

Sakura thanked Shino as he helped settle Lee onto a stretcher before taking off down the hall to start on his healing.

…...

Naruto stood awkwardly in the middle of the arrival area, scratching his head nervously. Most everybody had cleared out, headed for the hospital. He still had Kiba on his back, but since he was awake, he figured it wouldn't be life or death if he stayed behind an extra minute or two. Out of his peripheral vision he could just make out the shy girl who, as of late, had been occupying his thoughts more than not. Her long, dark hair was billowing around her in the breeze and she looked breathtakingly beautiful in a lavender kimono.

Taking in a deep breath, Naruto was about to turn to greet the shy Hyuga when Kiba chose that moment to speak up. "Yo, Naruto. It was nice of you to carry me and all, but I think I'm done with the awkward piggy back ride."

Naruto chuckled. "A-ah yah! Sorry! Down you go." Once Kiba was steady on his feet, Hinata ran up and nearly tackled her teammate with a hug.

"I'm glad you and Shino are safe, Kiba-kun." Naruto couldn't stop the tinge of jealously towards Kiba from his short contact with Hinata. To be honest, Naruto still hadn't quite worked through his feelings towards the shy girl, other than this newfound desire to spend as much time with her as possible.

Kiba excused himself politely, hopping on Akamaru's back and taking off after everyone else, but not before casting Hinata a sly wink. That left just Naruto and the blushing Hyuga heiress. And well, Neji and Tenten of course. They were whispering a few yards away, but luckily Neji seemed too engrossed in the conversation to notice that Naruto was paying a little bit too much attention to his younger cousin.

…...

Hinata turned a deep shade of pink as Naruto turned the full force of his deep blue gaze upon her. "So….you and Kiba, hm?"

Hinata's head shot up, worried now that her hug had been misinterpreted. Naruto was rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "N-No! Kiba and I are just friends and teammates! We aren't-he isn't-I like-I mean-I don't like him. " Hinata stuttered, thoroughly embarrassed and making a fool of herself in front of the boy who was her inspiration for getting strong.

"That's great! I mean-you're great! Any guy would be lucky to date you Hina-chan!" Hinata's blush deepened and she began nervously pushing her fingers together. As her gaze fell from his face, her eyes were drawn to a particularly nasty gash stretching from his wrist to his elbow.

"N-Naruto-kun! You need to get to the hospital! You're hurt too!" She watched as he glanced down at his wound.

Chuckling, Naruto brushed off Hinata's concern. "Aw, it's nothing. It'll heal on its own and I can barely feel it anymore."

Feeling suddenly bold, Hinata reached out and grasped his arm. She felt him shiver as she prodded at the wound. A sigh escaped his lips as she used what little medical jutsu she had learned to pull the skin together in order to stop the bleeding.

"Your chakra feels nice Hina-chan." Realizing that he might have said too much, Naruto quickly corrected himself. "I just mean that it feels nice to have somebody take care of you. I guess I'm just not used to it." He chuckled again as Hinata smiled kindly up at him. For some reason this felt right. Right up until she realized their faces were only inches apart. Letting out a squeal, Hinata fell backwards bracing herself for the pain of hitting the stone.

…...

Neji whipped his head around when he heard his cousin cry out. He turned just in time to see Naruto standing over Hinata in a precariously inappropriate position. Hinata's legs were splayed out and her cheeks were a deep red color that was reserved only for Naruto. The boy in question had fallen to his knees and his legs were somehow intermingled with hers. His hands had managed to brace her head, but he was now leaning his forehead against hers, their noses just barely touching.

Neji made a move to march angrily towards them, his mouth opening to chastise Naruto, but the girl next to him clamped a warm hand over his mouth and used her leg to shift his weight so that they tumbled to the ground. Tenten landed on top of him and if anyone were to look in this direction it would appear as if nobody was around.

Neji made no move to remove the hand from his mouth, far too shocked by his teammate's bold actions and the tingling sensation that was suddenly spreading throughout his body anywhere where her skin touched his.

Much like Naruto and Hinata, Tenten's face was abnormally close to his and he could feel her hot breath against his neck. She was looking anxiously in the direction where Naruto and his cousin were, probably hoping that they hadn't ruined the moment. Even Neji had to admit that after all these years it was about time Naruto came to his senses and began to take notice of Hinata.

But he chose to think on such thoughts later. Right now, all he wanted to do was take in as much of his partner's appearance as he could. Even if some of the stray strands of hair from her loose twin buns were tickling his face, he wished that they would never have to move. It was rare for the two to be this close, unless punches or weapons were involved.

She still hadn't looked down at him, or else he was sure that Tenten would have jumped off of him by now. Instead, in her distracted state, she still had one hand covering her teammate's mouth and the other pushing down on his chest, right over his heart. He willed the traitorous organ to stop beating so rapidly.

…...

Tenten was not nearly as oblivious as Neji believed (aka hoped) her to be. She was well aware of the precarious position she had thrown herself into and she was frozen in fear, terrified of looking down and having to face the Hyuga's wrath. So instead she kept her eyes staring in the direction of where she knew Naruto and Hinata were, wracking her brain for some solution to the mess she was in.

As the seconds grew into minutes Tenten became aware of the steady but rapid thumping against the palm of her hand. When she had tackled Neji, she had positioned her body so that her weight would keep him down and her hand had ended up over her teammate's rapidly beating heartbeat.

Shocked, Tenten finally glanced down into the pale eyes of her best friend and was surprised to find them widened as if she had startled him. To the best of her knowledge Neji Hyuga did not get startled….except perhaps by extra spicy food.

Neither teammate moved an inch as Neji's heart continued to race and Tenten's face continued to grow redder and redder. This was the most prolonged contact either had ever had with each other. The only other time that came close to this was during the fight with Kisame when Neji had supported her after she nearly drowned. The thought only caused Tenten's face to flush even more as she quickly pushed herself off of Neji's chest.

To distract herself and to avoid meeting Neji's gaze, Tenten peered over the edge of the table only to be greeted by the curious face of one Naruto Uzumaki.

…...

Ino was pacing back and forth outside of the room Tsunade had rushed Shikamaru into only moments earlier. She had attempted to follow, only to be stopped by her mentor. She huffed in annoyance and worry. She was a medical ninja after all. It only made sense that she should be the one helping to heal Shikamaru's broken body.

This image sent Ino keeling over a trashcan to empty the contents of her stomach. Shikamaru had been injured many times, but never before had Ino seen a body so mangled. From the quick observations she was able to make it was obvious that he had at least one broken leg, but the gouges covering his body had been too numerous to count and the amount of blood covering his clothes terrified her.

She peered once more through the window, but was unable to see anything with all the people looming around her teammate's prone form. She quickly ducked down again when she saw one of the medical ninjas heading for the door. The woman, only a few years older than Ino pushed through the doors and took off down the hallway before Ino could even get a word out.

She sat down on the bench and willed herself not to cry again. Tears were troublesome….everything she did was always so troublesome.

The minutes passed and Ino perked up again as she heard the woman from earlier coming back down the hallway, bags of blood in both hands. Ino, being the impulsive girl she is, formed her family's trademark hand seals and found herself transported across the hall and into the unsuspecting mind of the medical ninja: her ticket to Shikamaru.

...…

Sakura wiped the sweat from her brow as she finally completed the difficult task of resetting Lee's leg. Having broken it twice already, Sakura was worried about the taijutsu users ability to continue using that leg at 100%. However, knowing him, she'd find him outside doing 1,000 pushups tomorrow morning. She cast a warm smile at the green clad boy before motioning for the medical ninja to take him to the recovery ward.

With everyone gone Sakura finally had a chance to let her emotions overwhelm her. She knew that neither Shizune nor Tsunade would allow her to help heal Sasuke and she felt completely useless. Thinking back on the moment when she saw his lifeless body in the large hand of Choji, she let out a small whimper, a few tears finding their way down her cheeks.

With a start, Sakura perked up and, wiping the tears from her eyes, took off at a run through the hospital. She may not be able to help Sasuke, but that also meant that Ino couldn't help Shikamaru. Remembering the distraught face of her best friend as she cried out, Sakura quickened her pace.

It was obvious now. Ino hadn't given Sasuke the time of day in quite some time. Sakura berated herself for not seeing it sooner. Somewhere along the way Ino had fallen in love with Konoha's laziest genius.

Rounding the corner at the critical ward, Sakura came to a halt. Ino was splayed out on a bench in an awkward position as if she had passed out. No, not passed out, Sakura quickly comprehended. Ino was not currently occupying her body.

…...

Naruto laughed nervously at the close proximity he now found himself in with the Hyuga heiress. Hinata gasped in shock when his breath washed over her face causing the hyperactive blonde to grin.

"How come whenever I'm around you we always seem to find ourselves in such embarrassing positions? Kind of like that one time you knocked me out at the Chunin exams." He flashed her a foxy grin and the shy Hyuga giggled.

Naruto found that he quite liked the sound and made a mental note to make Hinata laugh more often.

"N-Naruto?"

"Hmm?" Naruto continued to smile down into the face of the girl who was becoming harder and harder not to think about. He had nearly forgotten their precarious position, finding holding her like this to be one of the most comfortable things in the world.

Hinata lowered her voice. "I just thought I should remind you that Neji and Tenten were standing behind you." Naruto's eyes instantly opened wide as saucers and he quickly disentangled himself from Hinata whose face was still quite pink.

He swung his head around, searching for Neji, terrified for his life. Hinata too was peering around curiously, certain that just moments ago her cousin and his teammate had been standing near the desk at the front gate.

"Byakugan!" Naruto turned to glance at Hinata as she began to giggle once more. Covering her mouth so as to not make any noise, she pointed behind the desk. Naruto, curious to see what had caught Hinata's attention, strode over to the desk. As he leaned over it, he was just in time to catch Tenten pushing herself up from straddling a very anxious Hyuga prodigy.

…...

Neji watched from the ground in horror as Naruto became aware of the awkward position Tenten and himself had just been in.

"Yo…Tenten. I'm here to take over." Neji sighed in relief as Genma showed up to distract Naruto before he could start asking too many questions.

"Well it's about time." Tenten jumped up from her kneeling position on the ground and strode off with an annoyed and anxious face.

"What's with her? I'm early." Genma asked Naruto who just shrugged his shoulders.

Neji chose that time to push himself off of the ground, dusting dirt off of his clothing before taking off in the opposite direction of Tenten.

"What's with Hyuga? And was he…blushing?"

Naruto just shook his head. "Trust me, it's probably best if you don't know."

"Alright then….I'll just be getting to work." Genma took his place behind the desk, chewing on the straw in his mouth as if he hadn't just interrupted an awkward moment involving the usually stoic Hyuga prodigy and the normally cheerful Weapon's Mistress.

…...

Ino, in the body of the female medical ninja, pushed through the doors to find her senses immediately overtaken by the metallic scent of blood. She froze for a fraction of a second. It wasn't like this was her first time in a room like this, but this was her teammate, and if she was being honest with herself, the boy she found herself slowly falling in love with.

She suppressed all of her fears, trying to copy what she had seen Sakura do a thousand times when faced with a difficult situation.

"Oyone! Hook up those bags immediately!" Ino was startled for a moment as her mentor yelled at her with a name she didn't know. But she rushed forward as instructed, making sure to not glance down at the bloody and broken body on the table.

Now that she was here, she found her resolve wavering. How was she supposed to help Shikamaru if she couldn't even bring herself to look at him? Taking a deep breath to calm her nerves, Ino turned and was once again met with the limp body of her closest teammate. Despite the pounding in her chest and the sweat on her brow, Ino, in Oyone's body, strode forward, positioned her hands over Shikamaru's arm, and began to emit green medical chakra from her hands.

"Lady Tsunade." Ino glanced up quickly when she heard Sakura's voice ring out in the quiet room. She quickly glanced down, knowing that Sakura would have found her body in the hallway and had most likely come to have her removed from the room.

"I finished healing Lee. I would like to offer my services in the healing of Shikamaru if you need any extra hands." Ino smiled to herself, thankful that her and Sakura were such good friends.

"Hmm….we really could use all the hands we could get." Tsunade flicked her gaze up at Ino/Oyone. "Ino, why don't you release your jutsu so that we can get another pair of hands in here." Ino's eyes widened in shock.

"H-How did you….?"

"I've known Oyone for quite some time now and last time I checked she was happily married. She's hardly the kind of woman who would steal loving gazes at a boy she barely knows." Tsunade smirked at Ino's face reddened. "Now get a move on!"

"Hai!" Ino quickly lifted her hands to release her jutsu and awoke back in the hallway. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves before marching back into the room.

...…...

Sakura greeted Ino at the door, a medical coat held out for her. She smirked as Ino once again blushed, but decided now was hardly the time to tease her best friend about her love life, especially with the person of interest clinging to life by a thread.

Sakura turned to assist Lady Tsunade on setting Shikamaru's leg and caught a very miffed off Oyone glaring at Ino. It was then that she turned her gaze to analyze Shikamaru's condition for the first time. It was not a pretty sight and Sakura found herself impressed that Ino had managed to stay so composed as she healed the gruesome gashes that covered just about every inch of Shikamaru's body.

"What on earth were they doing?" Sakura whispered to herself.

"That's classified. S-ranked mission." Sakura started at her mentor's reply, not realizing she had spoken aloud.

She quickly buried her thoughts and worries of Sasuke in the back of her mind as she focused her full attention on Shikamaru. He had lost a lot of blood and honestly it was a miracle he was still alive.

As the broken leg was finally set and there was no longer a threat of bone marrow poisoning his blood, Sakura allowed herself a moment to check on her friend. Ino's face was determined, her eyes focused on a particularly deep gash across Shikamaru's chest.

There was a faint blush across her face, however, and Sakura wondered if this was the first time she had ever seen her teammate, and also her crush, without his shirt on. Sakura had to admit that she was surprised at how built Shikamaru was considering his rather lithe frame and his lazy nature.

Sakura was just turning back to her own healing when the hospital door burst open.

"Lady Tsunade, you need to come quick!" Recognizing the man as one of the medical ninja assigned to Sasuke's treatment, Sakura rushed forward, only to be stilled by Tsunade's hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura. Stay. In my absence, you are the most qualified medical ninja to take over treatment of Shikamaru." With that, Tsunade swept out of the room, the clicking of her heels echoing through the hallway.

Sakura was frozen, terrified once more much like last night when Hinata had found her.

"Sakura…" Sakura slowly turned her head to find Ino grasping her hands, her face worried. "I'll go. You came to help Shikamaru and I thought that was a debt I would never be able to repay, but Tsunade is right. You need to stay here. So I will go. I'll watch over Sasuke if you promise to watch over Shikamaru."

Sakura swallowed back the lump in her throat and nodded her head. "Thank you…Ino….I promise…" Ino smiled softly at her friend before stealing one last uncertain look at Shikamaru and following Tsunade out of the room.

…...

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Just so y'all know, I don't own Naruto (obviously).**

 **Stay tuned for Sasuke's condition! And let the lying games begin!**


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